Appendix d: Montreal Convention 1999

• Author: John D. Holding, John S. Hoff
• Pages: 133-155

[133 ]

Appendix D: Montreal Convention 1999

CONVENTION FOR THE UNIFICATION OF CERTAIN RULES

FOR INTERNATIONAL CARRIAGE BY AIR

Signed at Montreal on 28 May 1999

THE STATES PARTIES TO THIS CONVENTION

RECOGNIZING the signif‌icant contribution of the Convention for the

Unif‌ication of Certain Rules relating to International Carriage by Air signed

in Warsaw on 12 October 1929, hereinafter referred to as the “Warsaw Con-

vention”, and other related instr uments to the harmonization of private in-

ternational air law;

RECOGNIZING the need to modernize and consolidate the Warsaw

Convention and related instruments;

RECOGNIZING the import ance of ensuring protection of the i nterests

of consumers in inter national carr iage by air and the need for equitable

compensation based on the principle of restitution;

REAFFIRMING the desirabilit y of a n orderly development of interna-

tional air t ransport operations and the smooth f‌low of passengers, bag gage

and cargo in accordance with the principles and objectives of the Convention

on International Civil Aviation, done at Chicago on 7 December 1944;

CONVINCED that collective State act ion for further h armonization and

codif‌ication of certain ru les governing international car riage by air through

a new Convention is the most adequate means of achieving an equitable bal-

ance of interests;

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

[ 134 ] US MANUAL OF INTERNATIONAL AIR CARRIAGE

CHAPTER I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

Scope of Applica tion

1. This Convention applies to all international car riage of persons, bag-

gage or cargo performed by aircraft for reward. It applies equally to gratu-

itous carriage by aircra ft performed by an air transport undert aking.

2. For the purposes of this Convention, the e xpression internati onal car-

riage means any carri age in which, according to the agreement between t he

parties, t he place of departure and the place of dest ination, whether or not

there be a break in the carriage or a transhipment, are situated either within

the territories of two States Parties, or within the ter ritory of a single State

Party if t here is an agreed stopping place w ithin the territory of another

State, even if th at State is not a State Party. Carr iage between two points

within the ter ritory of a single State Party without an agree d stopping place

within the territory of another State is not international carriage for the pur-

poses of this Convention.

3. Carriage to be per formed by several successive carriers is deemed, for

the purposes of this C onvention, to be one undivided carria ge if it has been

regarded by the par ties as a single operat ion, whet her it had been agreed

upon under the form of a single contract or of a series of contracts, and it

does not lose its international ch aracter merely b ecause one contract or a

series of contracts is to be performed entirely within the territory of the

same State.

4. This C onvention applies also to carr iage as set out in Chapter V, sub-

ject to the terms contained therein .

Article 2

Carriage Perf ormed by State and Carriage of Postal It ems

1. Th is Convention applies to carriage performed by the State or by le-

gally constituted public bodies provided it falls within t he conditions laid

down in Artic le 1.

2. In the carriage of postal items, t he carrier sha ll be liable only to the

relevant postal administrat ion in accordance with the rules applicable to the

relationship between the car riers and the postal administrations.

3. Except as provided in paragraph 2 of this Article, the provisions of this

Convention shall not apply to the carriage of posta l items.